The Red-Riding Hood Kingdom
"The Red Riding Hood Kingdom is the safest and smallest of all the kingdoms; therefore, they're short-handed on soldiers and guards."''TLOS I, ch 10, p. 205 Characteristics The Red Riding Hood Kingdom, located right in the center of the Land of Stories, used to be a group of villages in the Northern Kingdom that were constantly under attack by wolves. Since the Evil Queen, who was currently ruling the kingdom, refused to help them, they revolted and started their own kingdom. They built a wall around it so no wolves could get in. This is known as the C.R.A.W.L. Revolution (The Citizens Riots Against Wolf Liberty). Since Red Riding Hood’s story was very symbolic of their struggle, she became the first elected queen in history (her only competitor was the Third Little Pig, who declined the functionTLOS II, ch 12, p. 181). Red calls her citizens "Hoodians".TLOS II, ch 15 p. 243 There are four guarded entrances into the kingdom along the perimeter of the wall, which is thirty feet and made from gray bricks. Each entrance has its own path that goes to the center of the kingdom, where the town is. There is only one town in the Red Riding Hood Kingdom; the rest is farmland. The town is dainty and picturesque, filled with tiny cottage homes and shops made of bricks or stone walls and hay roofs. (see Red Riding Hood Town) History The Dragon Age All of the Land of Stories is terrorized by dragons. The Age of Magic The Happily Ever After Assembly is founded and the kingdoms are devided. The area that is to be the kingdom is still part of the Northern Kingdom. The Golden Age The C.R.A.W.L. Revolution occurrs and the Kingdom is formed. Red Riding Hood is elected Queen after defeating the Big Bad Wolf. After years of "living happily ever after", the Enchantress threatens to take over the Land of Stories. Queen Red is deposed and replaced by Little Bo Peep. The kingdom becomes a republic. General Marquis and the Grande Armée arrive and attack the kingdoms. Froggy is elected king. Story The Wishing Spell In the first book of the saga, the twins arrive at the Red Riding Hood Kingdom after leaving the Charming Kingdom with the glass slipper. They climb over the wall and walk into town, finding the castle. After reading the journal, they discover it is best to break into the castle at midnight. They discover Jack’s beanstalk and Harper, the harp Jack rescued from the giant, and convince Jack to take the twins to the castle to visit Queen Red Riding Hood. Once in the castle, they meet the Queen, who isn’t very joyful to have to share Jack’s company. She allows them to look at her basket room, which is a very large room filled with baskets she has received for birthdays, holidays and other special occasions. After they make a mess trying to find the right basket they need for the Wishing Spell, the handmaiden escorts them back to the throne room, where Queen Red is very obviously trying to get Jack to agree to marry her. They soon leave the castle and decide to stay in the Shoe Inn and wait until midnight to break into the castle and continue with their search. Getting back into the castle is very easy with the instructions in the journal, so they quickly navigate the hallways, accidentally entering Queen Red’s bedroom, before they find the basket room again. They go through the baskets again, and the Huntress arrives, climbing through the window, looking for the same basket for the Evil Queen. Once she discovers the twins are there, she sets fire to the baskets, after cutting a piece of bark from the basket they had been looking for. The twins barely managed to escape with a piece of the bark before the castle is enveloped in flames. They immediately abandon the kingdom through the eastern gate, running into Goldilocks and Jack, who are having a reunion. The Enchantress Returns The twins go back to the Red Riding Hood Kingdom escorted by Froggy, who has moved into Queen Red’s new castle. The castle has been remodeled after being burned in the first book, and it is now wider and taller, with several towers, a large dome in the center and a clock above the front steps. As Conner points out, it looks just like all the other castles from the Land of Stories combined. After a Happily Ever After Assembly at the Charming Palace, the twins return to the Red Riding Hood Kingdom with Froggy and Red, where they discover the wall surrounding it has disappeared, a sign that the Enchantress has started her attacks. The villagers, and Queen Red, feel exposed and unprotected without the wall: “It’s not just a wall. … That wall is what separates us from the rest of the world! It represents our safety and victory after years of struggling! The Big Bad Wolf and his succeeding pack may be gone, but that wall has always been a symbol of peace to my people.”''TLOS2, ch 14, p. 222 Reunited with Jack and Goldilocks in Queen Red’s castle, Conner finds information about the Wand of Wonderment in one of Froggy’s books, and they all decide to work on putting it together to defeat the Enchantress. Froggy comes up with the idea of travelling by balloon, and they all agree to build a ship that can help them fly over the kingdoms and sail across the sea as well. Queen Red offers the supplies to build it – her basket collection and her dresses, as well as lamp oil – and they summon the help of the kingdom’s carpenters to build the ship, and Red’s Grandmother and the Little Old Woman are in charge of sewing the balloon. We also find out that Queen Red has had Jack’s beanstalk removed, and since they need it to visit the Giant’s castle to put together the Wand of Wonderment , they need to find the Travelling Tradesman to get new beans. Once they have them, they go back to Jack’s house to plant them, and ask Harper to watch it, who isn’t very happy with the task she’s been assigned. Once the ship is finished, Queen Red names it the HMS Granny, and they leave the kingdom to go on their adventure. They only come back when they are sure the beanstalk will have grown, ready to collect the Giant’s favorite item, but once they climb up to his castle, they discover they had had it all along – it was Harper. They descend the beanstalk, chased by a giant cat, and Red has to cut it down with an axe from Jack’s shack. Now with Harper as part of their group, they all get on board of the HMS Granny and leave to collect the next item. The Red Riding Hood Kingdom is only mentioned again near the end of the book, when all the royals are captured by Ezmia, and she’s asking them to surrender their kingdoms to her. Queen Red manages to buy them some time by telling the Enchantress that the kingdom is not hers to give, since she is an elected queen. When Ezmia threatens to kill every single person in the kingdom, she finally relents, but before she can actually go through with the Enchantress’ request, they are interrupted by Alex, who ends up defeating Ezmia. A Grimm Warning In the third part of the series, we find out that Queen Red has founded the Queen Red Riding Hood’s House of Progress, where a representative from each neighborhood in the kingdom helps her make decisions. “That way every decision is a well-rounded one and I can’t be solely blamed for anything that goes wrong.”''TLOS III, ch 4, p.81 The House of Progress is located across the castle, and it looks ''“like a miniature version of the US Capitol, except it had been painted red and the dome had been replaced with the world’s largest square basket.”''TLOS III, ch 6, p. 115 It is decorated, like Red’s castle, with paintings of the young queen, as well as a statue of Queen Red sitting on her throne. Alex visits Red during an open-meeting at the House of Progress, a woman causes a disturbance by interrupting and saying she has an announcement. She says her name is Little Bo Peep and she wants to challenge Queen Red Riding Hood for the throne, presenting a petition signed by a hundred citizens who agree to the elections and nominate Little Bo Peep as their candidate. ''“I believe there is a more responsible way this kingdom can be managed that will benefit everyone equally – and I believe I am the woman to do it.”''TLOS III, ch 6, p.126 Little Bo Peep challenges Queen Red to a debate. ''“The park in the center of the kingdom was lined with voting booths. Two podiums were set up on the House of Progress’s front steps where most of the kingdom had gathered on the ground below. The representatives were seated at the bottom of the steps, privileged to have front-row seats to the debate.”''TLOS III, ch 13, p. 239 Little Bo handles the debate very effectively, and the villagers are very impressed by the time she’s done, while Red doesn’t provide serious answers. Red ends up losing the election, and being evicted. Queen Little Bo Peep changes the name of the kingdom to the Bo Peep Republic. When the Grand Armée arrives at the Land of Stories and becomes a threat to the safety of all kingdoms, Alex organizes for the monarchs to be brought into the Fairy Kingdom to have an assembly. When counting the armies for their defense, Queen Little Bo Peep is unable to answer how many men they count with, and Red, who has moved into the Fairy Kingdom, provides the answer: eight hundred and twenty eight men. Both the former and current queens are sent on a secret path for their protection, with all the other monarchs. Later on, during the battle with the Grand Armée, it is revealed that Little Bo is in love with the Masked Man, but when he orders the dragon to kill everyone, including her, she dies of heartbreak. Once peace is restored, the Third Little Pig arrives at the Fairy Kingdom to announce that there has been a new election after Little Bo's death, and Froggy has been elected king by majority of write-in ballots. Notable Places * Red Riding Hood Town - the only town in the kingdom ** Red Riding Hood's castle (old & new): home of Queen Red. After she is deposed, Little Bo Peep turns it into an orphanage. *** Queen Red's Basket Room *** Queen Red's Chambers *** Froggy's Library ** The Henny Penny Bank ** Jack Horner’s Pie Shop ** The Pat-a-Cake Bakery ** The Shoe-Inn: a boot of gigantic proportions turned into a hotel. ** Several monuments, including the Sir Humpty Dumpty’s Wall, Jack and Jill Hill and the statue of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. * Bo Peep Family Farms * Jack’s Beanstalk and the shack where he used to live before he defeated the giant. At the top of the Beanstalk is the Giant's Castle. * The House of Progress : the Hoodians' version of the House of Congress. Notable Characters * Red Riding Hood : former elected monarch * Red Riding Hood's Grandmother * Froggy : (moves to the kingdom in ''The Enchantress Returns) ruling elected monarch * Jack : used to live in the kingdom, now on the run with Goldilocks * Goldilocks : used to live in the kingdom, now on the run * Porridge: Goldilocks' horse * Buckle: a horse from the Queen's stables * Oats: foal of Porridge & Buckle * Clawdius : Queen Red's pet wolf * Little Bo Peep : former elected monarch * Third Little Pig : one of the best carpenters of the kingdom * The Little Old Woman : runs the Shoe-Inn * The Giant from the Beanstalk: killed by Jack. * The Giant's Giant Cat : lives in the Giant's Castle at the top of the Beanstalk * Harper : used to live with Jack after being rescued from the Giant * Big Bad Wolf : used to terrorize the countryside * The Three Bears : sued Goldilocks for breaking into their home * Sir Humpty Dumpty : friend of Mother Goose * Sir Jack Horner : member of the House of Progress * Three Blind Mice : member of the House of Progress * Sir BaaBaa Blacksheep : member of the House of Progress * Lady Muffet : member of the House of Progress * Georgie Porgie : Lady Muffet's husband * Jack and Jill * The Boy Who Cried Wolf * Red Riding Hood's army : In A Grimm Warning, the army is said to have exactly 828 soldiers (before fighting the Grande Armée).TLOS III, ch 18, p. 301 References